Day: May 11, 2021

DUBAI, Emaar Properties PJSC announced it has achieved significant increased property sales underscoring investors’ continued confidence in Emaar brand and recovery of Dubai real estate market. During the first quarter (January to March) of 2021, Emaar recorded an increase in group property sales of 83 percent to AED 7.115 billion (US$ 1.937 billion) compared to the Q1 2020 group property sales of AED 3.887 billion (US$ 1.058 billion). The property sales were even higher than Q1 2019 by 6%.

Backed by robust property sales, Emaar’s Q1 2021 revenue stood at AED 5.993 billion (US$ 1.632 billion), an increase of 12 percent compared to Q1 2020 revenue of AED 5.328 billion (US$ 1.451 billion). Emaar reported net profit of AED 657 million (US$ 179 million) for Q1 2021 compared to the net profit of AED 609 million (US$ 166 million) during the same period in 2020, a growth of 8 percent.

With a solid sales backlog of AED41.805 billion (US$ 11.382 billion), which will be recognised as future revenue for Emaar Properties, the backlog reflects the strength of Emaar’s financial position to preserve high revenue, profitability and shareholders’ return in the foreseeable future.

Mohamed Alabbar, Founder of Emaar Properties, said: “As one of the most dynamic and growing markets in the world, Dubai’s property market resilience is a testament to its commitment to become one of the world’s best cities. We are dedicated to delivering properties in a timely manner and providing unparalleled residential developments that improve the lives of our residents and visitors. Within such a short space of time, Emaar has managed to achieve results that are comparable to 2019, before the pandemic affected businesses globally. Results are not by chance; they are a collective effort”.

Dubai continues to lead the way as a global hub for trade, financial services, logistics, travel and hospitality, with emerging sectors witnessing growth such as technology, green energy, healthcare and education. The region continues to attract a community of skilled professionals and investors who in-turn invest in the region’s continuous growth potential, reflective in Emaar’s sales records for Q1 2021.

Emaar has handed over more than 74,500 residential units in Dubai and international markets, with more than 25,500 units currently under development in the UAE and 11,500 units in global markets.

Setting new benchmarks in design, build quality, and innovation, Emaar consistently offers premium experiences and lifestyle opportunities across market segments; and its properties continue to remain sought-after by investors at home as well as abroad.

Emaar Development PJSC, the UAE build-to-sell property development business, majority-owned by Emaar Properties achieved strong quarterly property sales in Dubai during the first quarter (January to March) of 2021 recording an increase of 106 percent to AED 5.904 billion (US$ 1.607 billion) compared to the Q1 2020 sales of AED2.864 billion (US$ 780 million). Emaar Development has achieved revenue of AED 3.848 billion (US$ 1.048 billion) and net profit of AED 781 million (US$ 213 million), which grew by 26 percent and 20 percent over Q1 2020, respectively.

Emaar’s international operations continued to improve their operational results and recorded property sales of AED1.211 billion (US$ 330 million) in Q1 2021 compared to AED 1.023 billion (US$ 279 million) in Q1 2020 and AED 764 million (US$ 208 million) in Q1 2019, a growth of 18 percent compared to 2020 and 59 percent compared to 2019. This highlights the positive property market recovery as well as the significant interest in Emaar’s international expansions and trusted master developments.

Emaar’s international businesses contributed 13 percent to Emaar’s total revenue, underpinned by successful operations in Egypt, India and Pakistan.

Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail giant, released its results for Q1 2021, confirming its recorded revenue of AED901 million (US$ 245 million). Overall net profit for Q1 2021 amounted to AED 318 million (US$ 87 million) which is 169 percent higher than Q4 2020. Emaar Malls assets maintained strong occupancy levels at 91 percent.

Emaar Malls’ e-commerce fashion and lifestyle platform, Namshi, a wholly owned subsidiary, recorded sales of AED258 million (US$ 70 million) for Q1 2021, an increase of 6 percent compared to Q1 2020. Namshi’s strong performance is credited to its persistent growth in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other GCC countries along with its launch in Qatar in early 2021 and an increase of 117 new brands.

The hospitality, leisure, entertainment and commercial leasing businesses of Emaar recorded revenue of AED457 million (US$ 124 million) for Q1 2021, with the hotels under Emaar Hospitality Group, including its managed hotels, boasting average occupancy levels of 62 percent despite current market challenges and restrictions imposed by authorities.

Underlining the dynamic revenue streams of Emaar, the company’s recurring revenue generating businesses of malls, hospitality, leisure, entertainment and commercial leasing, together achieved revenue of AED 1.358 billion (US$ 370 million) which makes up 23 percent of the company’s revenue.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Dubai, Yalla Group Limited, a UAE-based leading voice-centric social networking and entertainment platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), reported revenues of AED248 million in Q1-2021, a record increase of 221% compared to the same period of 2020.

Announcing its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, the company said AED201.1 million of its revenues was generated from chatting services and AED47.3 million from games services.

Yalla affirmed that such promising financial results reflect its sustained success in the social media sector, in addition to the gradual improvement in the general business climate in the Arab region.

According to Yalla’s financial results, the non-GAAP net income grew to AED123.3 million in the first quarter, an increase of 263.7% compared to the first quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP net margin was 49.7% in the first quarter of 2021.

Speaking on the occasion, Tao Yang, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yalla, said: “We had a stellar first quarter marked by strong results in both operational and financial metrics. Yalla Group’s total revenue increased 39.9% quarter-over-quarter and reached AED248 million, exceeding the upper end of our guidance range by 7.4%.

“This exceptional performance was driven by our continued efforts to expand our user community, effective conversion of active users into paying users, and further advancement in monetization capabilities.”

“Our highly effective and resonating marketing campaigns augmented brand awareness across the Middle East and North Africa region,” he added.

For his part, Saifi Ismail, President & Director at Yalla Group, affirmed that the business intends to enrich its product portfolio and enhance collaboration among the Yalla applications to develop an integrated interactive system to help boost the number of users for the company’s apps.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, SHUAA Capital (DFM: SHUAA), the leading asset management and investment banking platform in the region, has announced AED25 million Q1’21 net profit.

A statement on its financial results for Q1 2021 said SHUAA achieved a 10-year record in quarterly profits, with net profit attributable to shareholders for Q1 2021, of AED 25 million compared with AED 262 million net loss attributable to shareholders in Q1 2020. with operating income increasing 132% year-on-year from AED 19 million in Q1 2020 to AED 45 million in Q1 2021.

EBITDA generation also remained strong, at AED 75 million for Q1 2021 compared with a negative EBITDA of AED 202 million in Q1 2020, up AED277 million year-on-year. Furthermore, revenues saw an increase to AED102 million in Q1-2021 compared with AED72 million in Q1 2020, up 42% year-on-year driven by our recurring business which continues to trend above the average of the last four quarters, despite Q1 traditionally being SHUAA’s quietest quarter.

Although this is against a weaker 2020 comparative, as Q1 2020 saw the early effects of the global pandemic, these results represent the fourth consecutive quarter of profitability for the Group despite the continued impact of COVID-19 on the economic landscape, demonstrating the resilience of SHUAA’s diversified platform.

The solid underlying performance also saw SHUAA achieve record profits for its Asset Management business. This was despite a slight decrease in assets under management to USD 13.9 billion compared with the record levels of USD 14.1 billion reached at the end of FY 2020, due to the exit of a low margin mandate. Conversely, the company has achieved continued progress on building out the new funds recently launched.

Both SHUAA’s Asset Management and Investment Banking businesses achieved a strong start to the year, underpinned by several landmark transactions in the first quarter despite some delays to transactions.

SHUAA’s asset management segment continues to make progress on its previously communicated strategic agenda with regards to the build-up of permanent capital posting record profits of AED 35 million. Two of the Group’s permanent capital vehicles launched under the Incorporated Cell Company (ICC) platform in Q4 2020 announced their first dividends in January 2021. This is testament to the funds’ early performance, representing an annualized yield of 6.4%, and highlights SHUAA’s ability to create significant value for its investors. Building on this positive momentum the ICC Funds platform expects to launch three additional funds to expand its offering.

Commenting on SHUAA’s Q1 2021 results, Jassim Alseddiqi, Group Chief Executive Officer of SHUAA Capital, said: “We have further solidified our platform and have successfully concluded our merger integration program. Our focus now shifts onto growth and transformation with significant hiring across the platform, new product launches and differentiated value propositions for our clients. With Q1 profits having hit a 10-year high, the landmark transactions and the momentum we are currently seeing across the firm going into Q2 have both been very encouraging and reinforce our commitment to the continued execution of our strategic agenda.”

Source: Emirates News Agency